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Barnyard Buddies:  My Gang of Squirrels  |
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chicken necker
True Blue Farmgirl
509 Posts
Sherry
Eastern Shore
Maryland
USA
509 Posts |
 Posted - Jan 02 2008 : 12:46:05 PM
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First off, let me say that I searched this topic first, and after doing so, I realize the risk I take when I share my story,that I might even get hate mail, lol. (geez, i hope not) I found only one positive topic!
This past summer I was rehabbing an injury, so I spend a bit of time sitting out on the deck reading during the day. I've always fed the birds, but just tossing the seeds instead of having a bird feeder. The deck is one story up, with the main portion of the house.
Anyway, I was out one day munching on some peanuts (in the shell). I heard something clicking on the deck and there was one squirrel just eyeballing me. I tossed it a nut, and went back to reading. Next thing I know there were two coming up the steps. Tossed more. Hobbled back in for the evening. Two days later, I'm out again and here comes the first one (identifiable by a split ear). I give him more.
The next day, here he comes again, yes you can tell, lol. But I didn't hear him or see him until he grabbed my foot! Lord, I almost died!
To make a long story short, he and I began a long and fruitful friendship, he inviting about nine others to join us. Now they take the nuts straight from our hands, peer into the deck door if noone's been out for a while and coming running when we "chatter" at them.
Oh, and I saw the post about the squirrels chewing through the back door. We went away for ten days and nothing happened, except they wouldn't come up for two whole days like they were mad at us!
This might be hippie like, but I figure they were here first, their home is an ancient old oak in the woods behind the houses. The development took up all of their natural habitat, I wanted to live here, so I could at least share. Not to mention, after a hectic day of dealing with a computerized materialistic world, it's refreshing and relaxing to watch them and be in their world! 
I love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they go flying by. ~anon |
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Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
Posted - Jan 02 2008 : 12:57:03 PM
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You won't get any hate mail from me. I love to watch the squirrels run through the big trees surrounding my house. Unfortunately, they seem to regard my attic as their sacred homeland, so I can't encourage them to hang around.
Have you gotten any pictures of them closeup? |
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chicken necker
True Blue Farmgirl
509 Posts
Sherry
Eastern Shore
Maryland
USA
509 Posts |
Posted - Jan 02 2008 : 12:59:59 PM
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Yeah, I do! That's the first thing I used my Christmas camera for! I'll download them.
I love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they go flying by. ~anon |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Jan 02 2008 : 1:40:16 PM
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I love the squirrels...happy to have them, except when they eat all my birdfeed, so I purchased a new feeder that sort of "flips" them when anything heavier than a cardinal hops on. It's conserving me money and the birds can eat in peace.
I bought the squirrels some shelled peanuts and they LOVE them! It's really cute to watch them toss them around in their little "hands". We also have a black squirrel, but the grey guys are not too keen on him...
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
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DaisyFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
1646 Posts
Diane
Victoria
BC
Canada
1646 Posts |
Posted - Jan 02 2008 : 1:43:52 PM
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I love my squirrels and their entertaining acrobatics while trying to get into the bird feeders. They provide hours of entertainment. My dog doesn't like them much though, particularly when they drop apples out of the tree on her head!
My daughter works for a doctor and looks after his house while they are gone. Last year when they went on holidays a squirrel managed to get in the house through their chimney cleanout. The damage was in the thousands of dollars. Almost every old wood window sill in their heritage home was chewed into huge splinters as it tried to find an escape. All the houseplants were dug up and mud tracked throughout the house and the worst (saddest really) part was it died on their white bedroom carpet. Yuk.
But I love my squirrels and have been known to put a few peanuts out and about too!
Di |
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Lainey
True Blue Farmgirl
2401 Posts
Elaine
Waco
Kentucky
USA
2401 Posts |
Posted - Jan 02 2008 : 1:47:07 PM
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I love squirrels too! My grandfather (mother's father) used to feed them on his back steps. They would eat out of his hands. We have a black walnut tree right behind out house and although I picked all of them off I didn't use them this year. I left them laying in a container under the tree. The squirrels or something have had a good time with them.
Farmgirl Sister #25
http://countrygirldreams.blogspot.com/ |
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Tina Michelle
True Blue Farmgirl
6948 Posts
Tina
sunshine state
FL
USA
6948 Posts |
Posted - Jan 02 2008 : 5:16:42 PM
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you won't get any hate mail from me..
we had a pet squirrel named "Red Baron" when I was a girl..unfortunately he attacked me and my grandmother pretty badly one day..it was my mistake actually..we had 21 puppies (3 dogs that all got preggers at the same time and each had 7 puppies...eeek..they all found good homes though) but anyway..back to the story..I had been out to take care of the puppies and came back in and went to feed the squirrel in his cage..only grandma and I were home..well I made the mistake of not washing my hands after tending the puppies....I was immediately attacked..that squirrel was all over me..in my hair ...up and down my arms biting and scratching me. If you have never been bitten by a squirrel trust me..it's nothing you ever want to experience.
My grandmother came in with the broom to try and knock the critter off of me, but it jumped on her and started attacking her. By the time we got the animal corralled into the bathroom we both were a bloody mess.
Scary..yes...but the animal was only protecting itself..so it thought..from a predator.
Anyhow..after that I became quite terrified of the little guy, and my dad would let him out to run amongst the trees. After a while he started getting more and more wild acting so we donated him to an outdoor classroom facility for children to learn about Florida wildlife.
But..I do like them..just not too close anymore..ha
And if you have holes in amongst your roof line..it's best to make sure the areas are sealed. We had a squirrel that kept on going to the same teeny tiny spot on our roof line and trying to gnaw an opening to get into the attic...it did not succeed because we put some of that spray foam insulation in the crack.
Once in a while I see it at the feeders though.
But anyhow..they are fun to watch...but now I watch them from afar.
Having been bitten once by one..I don't wish to experience that event again.
~Seize the Day! Live, Love, Laugh~
visit me at:
http://gardengoose.blogspot.com/
and at www.stliving.net
you can also check out my etsy shops at:http://GardenGooseGifts.etsy.com |
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lmillward
True Blue Farmgirl
111 Posts
Lorie
Riverton
UT
USA
111 Posts |
Posted - Jan 02 2008 : 6:31:26 PM
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Nothin wrong with being "Hippie-like"! I've been doing it all my life!
Long live the weeds and the wildflowers! ~John Muir |
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AFMom
True Blue Farmgirl
100 Posts
Erica
North Dakota
USA
100 Posts |
Posted - Jan 03 2008 : 04:24:46 AM
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Hi Sherry,
I love to watch the squirrels too. At our previous home they were very curious just like yours are and would come up on our deck too to be with us. It got to the point they started looking in the sliding glass door to see if we were coming out to give them food. The best viewing and pictures I have are when the babies were born and the little guys would come up on our deck to eat and were so, so, cute! Enjoy them when you can...be safe...and take precautions.
I don't mind if others don't want them around, but it does irritate me when neighbors would recommend I stop feeding them so their "property values" would not see a decrease. It got so bad for us, that the woman we carpooled with, would hit them on purpose in the road of our suburb to purposfully kill them...she felt she was "decreasing the surplus population" (Quote from the Muppet Christmas Carol/Ebenezer Scrooge)and did it with my daughter in the van with her going to and from school. DD was devastated. It was pretty bad. So, I say, kudos and enjoy....life is about enjoying all of God's creations and despite the destruction they can do, they don't deserve to be killed senselessly. Just my thoughts. As I said before, take precautions because they are wild animals and can be unpredictable as others have mentioned...but I know it is possible to enjoy them from a distance. Hugs, Erica |
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AmyEllen
True Blue Farmgirl
235 Posts
Amy
McPherson
Kansas
USA
235 Posts |
Posted - Jan 03 2008 : 11:32:45 AM
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One of my great grandmothers used to feed the squirels, chipmunks, deer, birds etc, right out of her hands on the back porch. I have fed squirrels and chipmunks before. been awhile though. How cool to have all those furry little friends. I am one of those who do not mind if the squirrels raid my bird feeders, LOL.
I went do go through loads of bird seed, but I love watching both. I used to have a cardinal who would sit on a tree branch near our porch, and we would whistle back and forth at each other. I miss him since we moved.
Amy
My Blog
http://lifenkansas.blogspot.com/
Amore Schnauzers
http://amoreschnauzers.blogspot.com/
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Edited by - AmyEllen on Jan 04 2008 09:24:32 AM |
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Miss Bee Haven
True Blue Farmgirl
4331 Posts
Janice
Louisville/Irvington
Kentucky
USA
4331 Posts |
Posted - Jan 03 2008 : 1:11:30 PM
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My brother takes my 86 year old dad to a local restaurant on Sundays where they serve you big bowls of unsalted peanuts in the shell to snack on while you wait. They encourage you to throw the shells on the floor! ICK! My dad can't eat peanuts(diverticulitis), but he stuffs his pockets full and takes them to the little golf course he and his buddies take care of and feeds them to the squirrels there! They get stuff from all the old guys! What bums(the squirrels, not the old guys-LOL)!
Farmgirl Sister #50
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?"
'Br.Dave Gardner' |
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EnchantedWoodsGirl
True Blue Farmgirl
959 Posts
Kathy
New Jersey
USA
959 Posts |
Posted - Jan 03 2008 : 8:29:01 PM
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Okay, U caught me - I am not only a squirrel lover, but I have raised many baby squirrels (wildlife rehab)and have loved them just like they were real babies- the antics of squirrels are hysterical - I had one, Frisky the Bachelor Squirrel who wintered over with me (it is him in the picture) I taught him how to box and he would stand on his hind legs and box with me. I even bought him a snowman tophat near Christmas and put it on him. He was so cute and he still lives in my woods.
I remember when one warm spring day I had the door open to my cabin up where I raised the squirrels - they had eaten through the screen and were having a field day in my cabin - one was sitting on the turntable of the old record player enjoying the corn he had found stashed in there - they all scrambled when I went in, one had even jumped onto one of the blades o fthe ceiling fan. I don't think I will ever forget that day - hehehe
Kathy of the Enchanted Wood
Farmgirl Sister #59
http://enchantedwoodmusings.blogspot.com/
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Lainey
True Blue Farmgirl
2401 Posts
Elaine
Waco
Kentucky
USA
2401 Posts |
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Barnyard Buddies: My Gang of Squirrels |
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My Gang of Squirrels
